This Weekend at FCC

We have an exciting weekend planned at FCC!

NIGHTWATCH
Friday, March 7 at 7:30pm

The Nightwatch worship team will continue our monthly Nightwatch worship service this weekend. Come and join members of FCC as well as other brothers and sisters in Christ from the community for a time of music, Sprit-led worship, and ministry through prayer and sharing of life's many joys and struggles. The service will begin at 7:30, and we hope to see each of you able to come and worship our Creator.


MISSIONS POTLUCK
Saturday, March 8 at 6pm

Join us as we eat, fellowship, and celebrate the Gospel going out to the nations. Missions booths will be set up, and we will hear updates about our missionaries. Please bring at least one dish (main, salad, or dessert) to share.


MISSIONS SUNDAY
Sunday, March 9 at 10am and 6pm

Join us Sunday, as Dan Nicholas shares at our morning service and Bernie Bovenkamp of Starfish Ministries shares in the evening.

Go to Full Post

Lina Update: God is on the Move!

First off I want to thank everyone who has been praying for this situation. We have been so blessed to be a part of this church family. The prayers and encouragement have been amazing. Thank you very much.

In the last update Pastor Phil wrote about the problems that we were encountering with the Lithuanian Government. Their laws forbid adoptions if the adoptive parents are not at least 18 years older than the child. Michele is 17 years and 9 months older than Lina. There is no legal precedent for an exception to this law and our application was officially denied. We then asked, when she turns 15 and is no longer allowed to stay in the orphanage could we then adopt her? Again, the Lithuanian officials said no. At that point it seemed like this was a done deal and that God must have something else in mind with this situation.

Bethany, our adoption service, even offered to refund the monies that we had already applied to our account. We talked and prayed about it and said that we didn’t want our money back and that we didn’t believe that this was over yet. Pastor Phil wrote the last update and people began to pray. Prayer truly is a powerful privilege. Around two weeks later we heard back from Bethany that they had continued to advocate for us and that the Lithuanian officials had agreed that we could send some additional information and they would further consider the situation. Bethany was quick to caution us that this was slim hope and that there is still no legal precedent for an exception to the law. What some saw as slim hope we saw as God working on hearts and minds. We were thrilled with this small crack, this glimmer of hope, because we could see the potential for God to expand that crack into a fissure we could walk through and put that wall behind us.

---

Bethany was quick to caution us that this was slim hope. . . . We were thrilled with this small crack, this glimmer of hope, because we could see the potential for God . . .

---

We gathered letters of recommendation, commitments of support from our families, and the youth of FCC wrote letters of support for us and that they would accept Lina into the youth group with open arms. We also included a photo book of us and where we live. We sent it off and waited and prayed. It was about a month later when we heard from Bethany that the Lithuanian officials were very impressed and that they would support us. But there was still the legal issue. Bethany sent a lawyer to speak to the “Head Judge.” He reported back and said that the judge would not make a ruling because it was not in front of him in court yet but that when it is he will make a ruling in our favor. In this case the judge is willing to make a legal precedent for an exception to the law. Although not a done deal yet, God took that crack in the wall and ripped it wide open. Foreign government officials changing their minds after saying no twice. Judges agreeing to make exceptions to the laws. God truly can do anything. With the prayer and support of you, our church family, we are continuing to wade through the paperwork and the processes.

I also want to share some of the other events that I believe are directly related. Just as God is working in our favor I believe that satan has been working against us. I also believe that opposition can be a good indicator that we are on the path God has set for us. Although it is not always the case that bad things are the work satan, he is active. It’s much easier to explain away spiritual events as bad luck or coincidence. But if we can see satan’s attacks for what they are then it is possible to take encouragement from negative events and rejoice in our sufferings. From the very beginning of this process all our big triumphs have been preceded or closely followed by some serious negatives.

Above, I talked about two big positive events. The first being that small glimmer of hope allowing us to send more information and have our application re-evaluated. That news arrived on a Tuesday morning. The day before while driving to work I believe satan dropped a tree branch on my car. I was driving around 50mph. The branch hit on the right side of the hood, smashing it in then shattering the windshield. The passenger side window exploded showering me with glass and the door was a total loss. The engine ran for around 30 more seconds then died. The last thing I needed was a 2K-repair bill when all our extra money was going to adoption fees. Oh well. I now drive a green jetta with a white passenger door and a pounded out hood. The rest of the repairs can wait. Satan had succeeded in dampening our spirits but God came back with great encouragement the very next morning.

The second big triumph was when God worked on the hearts of the Lithuanian officials and they gave us their approval. This was followed the very next day with an email from my company stating that if I didn’t keep my work hours at 40 hours per week that I would be considered part time and I would lose my benefits. That includes medical, dental, vision, sick leave, paid holidays, and long term disability insurance. The reason that my hours were being reviewed was because when we had gone to Guatemala for a short-term mission trip I didn’t have enough vacation time built up so I used un-paid time off. That un-paid time off lowered my cumulative average below 40 hrs/wk. I always work 40 hrs normally but I explained that we will need to go to Lithuania twice this year for two weeks each trip for the adoption. I was told that all that un-paid time off would cost me my benefits anyway. So I told them that they could keep their benefits and I found private medical coverage for Michele and I that we can add Lina to when she arrives.

---

God took that crack in the wall and ripped it wide open. Foreign government officials changing their minds after saying no twice. Judges agreeing to make exceptions to the laws. God truly can do anything.

---

Taken by themselves these events may have just been random but looking back and seeing the patterns I feel confident that we are doing what God wants us to be doing, partly because we are drawing fire from the enemy. I don’t mean to say that we should read something spiritual into every event but like I said earlier if we can identify spiritual attacks then we can draw encouragement and joy from our sufferings because we know that satan is trying to prevent us from doing God’s work.

We are more committed to seeing this through than ever. With your continued prayers we can deal with whatever comes and see to it that God’s will is done. Thanks again, and may God Bless you.

from KC Houston

Go to Full Post

Total Money Makeover

How are your New Year's resolutions going? Are you now 20lbs. lighter, reading your Bible every morning, and out of debt?

If not, FCC might be able to help you (at least with getting out of debt). Total Money Makeover is being offered to everyone who would like to learn what the Bible says about finances and to give you practical advice and help with your individual finances.

Is it scriptural to go into debt? To use credit cards? Should I co-sign a note if asked? Is it wise to lease a car? How can I know if I'll have enough for retirement? Should I save for retirement first or put money into my kids' college fund instead? In these scary financial times we have many questions. We don't know what's going to happen to the price of gas or food or if we'll still have a job? So, what should I do?Come to Sunday school!!

Bible verses will be discussed. C.D.'s by author & radio host Dave Ramsey will be shown on many subjects: tips on saving, cash flow planning, buying bargains, dumping debt, investments, insurance, and more. Forms will be passed out to help you create and implement your own personal spending plan.

Is debt causing you concern about your financial future? Are financial pressures affecting your marriage? This class is designed to help you come up with a workable plan and to help hold you accountable to follow that plan.

If we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, He will be faithful to see that our needs are met, but we must avail ourselves of the wisdom found in Scripture and follow it. It is very difficult to modify behavior. Just look at how tough it is to lose weight. But meeting with others and realizing “I'm not the only one in trouble” is an excellent way to start making changes in our financial habits.

Join Steve Greenhaw beginning Sunday, March 30 at 9:00am in the Fireside room where we will learn together how to begin to remove the financial chains that are enslaving us.

from Steve Greenhaw

Go to Full Post

The Beatitudes

A couple of weeks ago, my folks took my wife and me to brunch after our Sunday Morning Worship Service. While drinking coffee after placing our orders, my mom asked, "What are you going to teach in Sunday School next quarter?"

"I'm thinking the Beatitudes," I said. "I sense the Spirit leading me to teach something that will complement the messages Pastor Tim's been preaching, and I think this might be it. But I want to ask Tim before I decide and get his input.

When I saw Tim on Monday morning, I started, "I'd like to get some advice from you about Sunday School." And I was ready to explain what I was thinking and why and how things might work together.

But before I got a chance, Tim interrupted. "I think you should teach on the Beatitudes," he said.

My intitial reactions was, "Did we already talk about this?" We hadn't. Then I wondered, "Did Dad or Mom or Debbie say anything to him?" They hadn't. So where did Tim come up with the Beatitudes?

Apparently from the same source I got it. And I took that as confirmation.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, calls the Beatitudes "the essential, utter difference between the Christian and the non-Christian." And that's how we'll approach them.

What does it mean to say that these short, straightforward statements of Christ are "essential"? It means that they define the very essense of Christian character. They aren't just a side-effect of being a Christian, a spiritual tendency among those who claim Christ. Nor are they merely a possiblity, something that we might manage to grow into as we mature in the Faith. No, the Beatitudes define the true believer at his core from the moment he is born again. They are essential.

What does it mean to say the Beatitudes are the "utter difference"? It means that they define the complete and total disparity between those who belong to Christ and those who belong to the world. There is no overlap. Once you understand what Christ meant by these statements, you cannot say, "The non-Christian may be somewhat poor is spirit, but the Christian is more so." No, the natural man is fundamentally opposed to the character expressed in the Beatitudes, while the born-again man is defined by it. It is an utter difference.

We'll look at each of the Beatitudes in detail. We'll strive to understand the character that Jesus Himself ascribed to true disciples. And we'll examine ourselves in light of God's revelation to determine if we are truly blessed as those defined by Christ's words.

The new Sunday School quarter begins on March 30, and Philip's class will meet at 9:00am in room one of the Education Building (the building immediately north of the main building).

Go to Full Post

Study Psalm 119 and Love God's Word

I recently encountered a passage from a sermon delivered more than a century ago, in 1888, by the "Prince of Preachers," Charles Spurgeon:

Beloved, what a peace the love of the Word brings to the heart! All hearts require an object of love. How many hearts have been broken because the thing beloved has disappointed them and proved false to their hopes? But when you love God’s Word, your love is not wasted upon an unworthy object. It introduces you to Christ and you love Him intensely, and however much you yield your heart to Him, you are always safe. Jesus is never a Judas to His friends. Jesus cannot be loved too well and hence the heart has great peace when it comes to Him.

The title of the sermon was "The Lover of God's Law is Filled with Peace" (the whole sermon is here), and it takes as its text Psalm 119:165.

Have you ever been hurt or disappointed by someone or something you loved? It's bound to happen; most of the people and things we love are imperfect and flawed. But if you want to learn to love something that will never fail--the Word of God--join Gale Phillips for Bible School each Sunday Morning as he continues his study through Psalm 119, the same psalm that inspired Charles Spurgeon.

The new Bible School quarter begins on March 30, and Gale's class will meet at 9:00am in room three of the Education Building (the building immediately north of the main building).

Go to Full Post